1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for charging electrical equipment, in particular, personal electronic instruments such as cellular telephones, calculators, hand held gaming devices, digital cameras and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for charging portable electrical equipment, in particular, personal electronic instruments such as cellular telephones, hand held gaming devices, digital cameras, PDAs, calculators and the like usually plug into a wall outlet (120 volts AC) and include an AC to DC converter, which is coupled to a rather lengthy wire at one end whose opposite end is coupled to a connector which plugs into the electrical equipment to be charged. Many consumers charge these small appliances or electrical devices in their kitchen (which is becoming the most often used room in the home), plugging the charging unit into a wall outlet and placing the electrical device on a kitchen countertop as the device is being charged. The problem with this conventional method of charging a device is that the device being charged occupies the limited counter space in the kitchen and could be subject to damage due to spilled water or the like. Furthermore, the charging electrical cord, usually about three feet in length, loosely lies on the countertop in an unsightly manner and may become entangled with objects residing on the countertop.
A wall mounted charging station for charging a personal electronic instrument (PEI) is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0012536 (Glass). However, there are a number of disadvantages and shortcomings in the use and design of such a wall mounted charging station. One shortcoming with such a design is that the charging station disclosed in the aforementioned published application still requires a wire connection, such as with cord 17, between the charging station 10 and the AC wall outlet 14. This wire connection may be lengthy, depending upon where the charging station 10 is positioned with respect to the wall outlet 14, and having such an unsupported loose wire may not be aesthetically pleasing in appearance.
Another shortcoming of the charging station disclosed in the aforementioned published application is that the PEI rests in a pocket 46 having defined and confining dimensions and, as a result, may receive only certain select PEIs of limited sizes and shapes.